Costume Design
Below you will find several examples of my work as a costume designer.
Into the Woods
The Bacchae: A Tragedy in One Act shows how one loses themselves to oppressive rule and the consequences of that oppression. The world that Dionysus exists in is in direct conflict with the authoritarian structures put in place by Pentheus.
Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Book: James Lapine
Originally Directed on Broadway: James Lapine
Orchestrations: Jonathan Tunick
Directed: Stephen Thorne
Stage Manager: Jordan "J.J." Jones
Scenic Design: Chloe Cobb
Costume and Makeup Design: Alastair Sigala Ramirez
Lighting Design: Victor Maldonado
Music Director: Mark Bruckner
Our Lady of 121st Street
The use of colors and texture on the clothing was a big property of the design. Colors and textures were used to convey the concept of the tattered quilt of a community, as well as tie characters’ personalities and differences together. This can be seen with Marsha and Edwin wearing contrasting colors and both having stripes in different orientations, representing the connection they have in common yet showing how they conflict at moments
There was one costume that was constructed for the character of Inez. I wanted a sophisticated look. One that someone would wear to show off to an ex-lover that they were doing better without them. I knew Inez needed a bold texture to match her bold personality, so I went with a red Ankara pattern I had found
shows I had gotten the opportunity to use the skills of digital rendering that I had been developing the previous year in costume classes, so it allowed me to see how my vision from the beginning can come to reality
The use of colors and texture on the clothing was a big property of the design. Colors and textures were used to convey the concept of the tattered quilt of a community, as well as tie characters’ personalities and differences together. This can be seen with Marsha and Edwin wearing contrasting colors and both having stripes in different orientations, representing the connection they have in common yet showing how they conflict at moments
Our Lady of 121st Street, set in the year 2003, is the story of a community that grew up together, coming together after the loss of someone they all held very dear to their hearts. The reunion brings together old friends but also opens old unhealed wounds.
Play: Our Lady of 121st Street Playwright: Stephen Adly Guirgis Venue: E.C. Mabie Theatre
Date: October 2021
Director: Mary Beth Easley
Stage Manager: Hallie Patterson
Scenic Design: R. Eric Stone
Costume Design: Alastair Sigala Ramirez Lighting Design: Bryon Winn
Sound Design: Mark Bruckner
Lighting Budget: $2,900
Total Budget: $12,655
The Bacchae: A Tragedy in One Act
The Bacchae: A Tragedy in One Act shows how one loses themselves to oppressive rule and the consequences of that oppression. The world that Dionysus exists in is in direct conflict with the authoritarian structures put in place by Pentheus.
Play: The Bacchae: A Tragedy in One Act Playwright: Carl Gross and Anna Murphy Adapted: Emma Rice
Venue: David Thayer Theatre
Date: November 2022
Director: Sarah Gazdowicz
Stage Manager: Elizabeth Sarsfield
Scenic Design: Kalen Novak
Costume Design: Alastair Sigala Ramirez Makeup Design: Abigail Mansfield Coleman Lighting Design: Bryon Winn
Sound Design: Mark Bruckner
Lighting Budget: $2,900
Total Budget: $12,655
For the world of Pentheus, which was more professional and structured, I looked towards the world of Modern Haute Couture Fashion. Pentheus was adorned in an asymmetrical suit vest with a cape attached. This high fashion suit worked with the character of Pentheus, who sees himself as modest yet is pushing the boundaries of what one may wear at an office.
I used color to connect the family tree of the characters. Pentheus wore a teal undershirt, which connected directly to Agave, his mother, who wore a beautiful teal cape suit
The use of UV light was also greatly beneficial in getting the effect of Dionysus ascending to Godhood at the end. To show this transformation I was inspired by my research into trickster gods for the show, specifically Veles, and gave Dionysus a pair of horns painted with UV paint and a cloak of long UV fabric that the Bacchae could play with. Abigail assisted with this transformation by designing a beautiful UV makeup look for this moment
For the world of Pentheus, which was more professional and structured, I looked towards the world of Modern Haute Couture Fashion. Pentheus was adorned in an asymmetrical suit vest with a cape attached. This high fashion suit worked with the character of Pentheus, who sees himself as modest yet is pushing the boundaries of what one may wear at an office.
Abyssinia
In discussions with the director we were both inspired by the trials and tribulations with the middle passage and how that related to Abyssinia. Due to this we looked at a monochromatic blue color pallette in honor of the Yoruba Orisha Oshun
I looked at a variety of shades and textures of blues to blend but also accent the characters.
In the moment where she is most vulnerable I put her in a blue and white dress surrounded by the dark blues of her attackers
In discussions with the director we were both inspired by the trials and tribulations with the middle passage and how that related to Abyssinia. Due to this we looked at a monochromatic blue color pallette in honor of the Yoruba Orisha Oshun
At the turn of the 20th Century, set in Stillwater Oklahoma, Abyssinia Jackson was blessed with the gift of a voice. Much like the story of Job Abyssinia is fated to go through a series of trials that would have her questioning her faith in God.
Play: Abyssinia
Book: Ted Kociolek and James Racheff
Music and Lyrics: Ted Kociolek and James Racheff
Venue: Majestic Theater, Dallas, TX
Date: February 2020
Director: Akim Babatunde
Choreographer: Britanee Bailey
Stage Manager: Ashley Newman and Ania Lyons
Scenic Design: Donna Marquet
Costume Design: Alastair Sigala Ramirez
Lighting Design: Scott Guenther
Music Director: Sheilah Vaughn Walker and Bruce Greer
Sound Design: Jorge Guerra
Avenue Q
Avenue Q, with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book by Jeff Whitty, is a musical comedy that pays homage to the children’s tv series Sesame Street. Avenue Q uses the educational format of Sesame Street to teach adult life lessons in adult context.
The visual inspiration for the puppets came from Sesame Street, as well as the Muppets and Care Bears. There were two different species of puppets: humans and monsters. The monsters had textured fur and four fingers, in contrast to the human’s fleece skin and five fingers. While the puppets were designed to be small enough to fit on the arm, the heads were sized similar humans so that they could compete with the real humans onstage. To bring in that children show aesthetic, the puppets’ skin tones favored a full color spectrum, rather than skin tones. I chose Princeton’s baby blue color because it gave a sense of innocence and freshness. I made Kate a light pink to give a not-so-flashy femininity. Rod and Nicky were obvious knockoffs of Bert and Ernie, so I hinted at their iconic portrayal by swapping their colors. Because Trekkie is the Cookie Monster counterpart, subbing the love of cookies with a love of porn, I played up the vulgarity of his design, giving him a phallic shaped nose and some horns. The Bad Idea Bears were modeled after Care Bears to give the illusion of cute and cuddly in juxtaposition to their sinister role in the show. I made Lucy hot pink: a traditionally lustful color, while giving her form and build inspiration from Pamela Anderson and Dolly Parton. Thistletwat was made to look like a moldy hag reflecting her snippy personality. I took the idiosyncrasies of adult life and situations and exaggerated them through the lens of children’s educational T.V.
For the overall design, I looked towards traditional Mexican clothing of the 19th century as well as some culturally Mexican things that resonated with my background. For the character of Isadora, I drew inspiration from the La Luna card seen in Loteria, a traditional Mexican bingo game, due to her being referenced as being born under the moonlight for her nightgown look seen at the beginning.
There were references in the script to Isadora’s name coming from that of the Goddess Isis. This resonated with me because towards the end we see Isadora rise and take a stand for herself against her abusive husband, so I wanted to play with this concept. I looked at traditional statues of the Goddess and pulled color inspiration for her pieces for her day look from there.
With the character of Septimo, I wanted to showcase his dark nature and his abusive habits. I investigated the story of El Charro Negro, which is a Mexican legend of a ghost that rides into town to pick up women and drag them to Hell. This felt fitting, one because he's working on their Hacienda which would mean he would more than likely be wearing a charro suit at the time and two the horrific abusive nature of this ghost felt fitting with his character.
For the overall design, I looked towards traditional Mexican clothing of the 19th century as well as some culturally Mexican things that resonated with my background. For the character of Isadora, I drew inspiration from the La Luna card seen in Loteria, a traditional Mexican bingo game, due to her being referenced as being born under the moonlight for her nightgown look seen at the beginning.
Wolf at the Door
In Costume Design III, we had a paper project where we were allowed to choose the show, we would like to design the costumes as an assignment. This excited me because it allowed me to do some work done by a Latine playwright. I chose to go with the show Wolf at the Door written by Marisela Treviño Orta. Wolf at the Door is the story of Isadora finding the strength to stand up against her abusive husband when he forces the mysterious pregnant Yolot to stay with them. This story spoke to me because it touches on the machismo nature that can be seen in several Latine families, but also tells this story with a supernatural twist. The strong influences of Latine folklore and mythology seemed like something right up my alley.
Textile Work
Going into the 2022/2023 school year, I wanted to take advantage of the courses offered by the University of Iowa Department of Arts and Art History. Textile Printing and Surface Design, taught by Terry Conrad, seemed like a fitting skill set to research for my work in costume design. This research was all new and very exciting. I quickly developed a passion for it and began to explore the process of screen printing for textiles. I will be highlighting three projects I produced while in the class.
The goal of the “Disruption of a Tessellation” project was to create a tessellation using Photoshop registration. This project taught me how to use Photoshop to create registrations that could then be used for textile pattern making. Textile Print and Surface Design Kink print 1 of 2
For this project, I wanted to explore the softer and more intimate side of the world of Kink. I chose to create patterns that had explicit sexual content but were contradicted by the more traditional Valentine color palette and softer silky fabrics This brought a softer romantic vibe that I felt showcased the intimate romantic side of the Kink world. Textile Print and Surface Design Kink print 2 of 2
Chico Tiburón y Chica Lava
The goal of the “Disruption of a Tessellation” project was to create a tessellation using Photoshop registration. This project taught me how to use Photoshop to create registrations that could then be used for textile pattern making. Textile Print and Surface Design Kink print 1 of 2
This mask was inspired off of the Pennsylvania cryptid the Squonk. The mask was sculpted with clay on a face plaster cast, then made with paper mache. The color was hand painted with acrylic paint.
This mask took inspiration from horror characters such as Leatherface and The Collector. The mask was constructed using worbla to mold and fold to the face. Acrylic painted was used to get a leather like finish. Hand stitching was then done to give it a more leather look.
This animal mask was based off the Mandarin Duck. The mask was constructed using a poly-therm fleece and then painted using acrylic.
This mask was inspired off of the Pennsylvania cryptid the Squonk. The mask was sculpted with clay on a face plaster cast, then made with paper mache. The color was hand painted with acrylic paint.
Mask Design
The fall of 2021 I took the Mask and Puppetry class while working on my M.F.A. at the University of Iowa. This showcases some of my work throughout that class.